Review: CHARMING
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 3, 2013
This is a story of a curious whimsical girl and spans from her youth to about 19.  Her father was deceased and her lovely mother who was the daughter of an Earl, married below her station and was disowned by her family.  The two of them roamed from friend to friend to keep a roof over their head until her mother died.  She was reluctantly taken in by her uncle to save face.  She was ignored and kept in the nursery and away from society all the years she lived with him until her uncle gave a party at his home and one of the guests raped her.  Going to her uncle being terrified and traumatized, she was forced to wed this man at the tender age of 15.  He didn't want her and continued to rape and beat her.  There was an accident one stormy night and her husband was killed.  She ran from the scene being in her last month of pregnancy trying to escape from her torturous life and save the child she desperately wanted.  She was aimlessly fleeing when she was spotted by a Duke while out riding his horse.  She goes into labor and the Duke delivers her son then has them transported to his home for further care.  The Duke whom has never experienced love feels very protective of this small woman and her child which eventually leads to love.  The brother of her deceased husband enters the picture and wants the child dead so he can become the Heir.  He makes several attempts until the Duke marries the girl to legally give her his protection.  The marriage goes through ups and downs dealing with the set in trauma from her years of abuse.  It has a satisfying ending and kept my attention throughout.  The characters came to life for me and related to each other in an equally satisfying emotional way.