Review: I Must Weigh In On This One
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2014
I read nearly every review written on this book before I reluctantly decided to purchase it.  Normally, a romance novel that includes such blatant faithlessness on the part of the husband would turn me inside out.  But, I was intrigued because so many readers seemed to think Jack should have allowances made for his behavior due to the circumstances surrounding his and Elizabeth's marriage and the fact that it had not been consummated.  In fact, a few days after Jack and Elizabeth wed, Jack returned to his military post in the wilds of Canada - there to live for five long years.When all is said and done, Jack did make wedding vows and those most certainly should have been considered to be as important and honorable as the promise he made to Giles as he lay dying - that he would marry Giles' beloved wife, Elizabeth.  But, apparently, Jack didn't consider the vows he made to Elizabeth in holy matrimony to have the same consequence as the vow he made to Giles. Rather he lived as he chose while he was in Canada, to the point people who knew him there were not even aware he had a wife.  Back home and two years into Jack's tour in Canada, a spiteful neighbor of Elizabeth's filled her in on the less than honorable lifestyle Jack was living and Elizabeth was stunned and heartbroken.  Not so much that Jack wasn't faithful but that he wasn't discreet - rather, it seemed his conduct was somewhat brazen.  Elizabeth had three more years after learning about Jack's foibles - three years to stew and become a woman of determination in regard to how her marriage would play out once Jack returned home.The good thing is that sooner or later The. Piper. Must. Be. Paid.  I for one, wanted the price to be quite high - that would be the only way, my soul would be satisfied.  Indeed, when Jack returned home from Canada, thinking he would settle down and breed a family, not considering what a small world it is and that the stories of his misdeeds had found their way back home, he was soon dismayed to realize that some of the sordid tales had reached his wife.Elizabeth confronted her sorry excuse for a husband and then let him know in no uncertain terms, how the game would be played from here on out.  Brava, Elizabeth!  For Jack's part, he is genuinely remorseful, corrects some of the worst parts of the rumors - it seems it was bad but not as bad as it had been reported and eventually time and forgiveness appear to be winning out.  But, Jack did not tell the most shameful thing of all and although the reader has a hint and knows something else is hiding in the wings, the entire truth doesn't come out until he and Elizabeth have been happily living together for three months. UH! OH!  I really wanted her to sock it to him but by that time, it was obvious he had withheld the truth because he was afraid he would lose her and indeed, it was such a betrayal of one's wife and such a very personal offense, it was no wonder he didn't want to include the telling of it when he was honest about his other misdeeds.I was really dialed into this story partly because I wanted Jack to get his comeuppance and then there was the part of me that wanted these two people to work things out. So, although I kinda hated the weak, cowardly Jack - he was human, he had his own insecurities from an early age and he found himself in a situation he highly resented in this "surprise" marriage to Elizabeth so realistically some consideration must be given to his circumstances and his frame of mind.  Therefore, I found myself giving him a measure of grace not normally given to men of his ilk. Elizabeth was not a rug to be walked on, she demanded respect and in the end, they had their HEA.  I give the story five stars because it absolutely held my interest.  Some reviewers compare Ms. Fraser's writing to Carla Kelly and I'm not sure I agree with this observation. I am a connoisseur of Ms. Kelly's books - love most of them - but not all. Not to take anything away from Ms. Fraser because she certainly has a great style and I hope to become an avid reader of her books - just don't really agree that her style is quite like Carla's.