Review: Good Reading!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 6, 2014
Grace Wagner needs a husband, and she needs one now! She is approaching her twenty-first birthday, and because of a fluke in the way her father’s will was written, her fortune will revert to her villain of a stepfather if she is not married. As Grace is pondering her fate at a ball, she is spotted by an old friend, Halwyn Fitzpatrick, who asks her to dance. Grace is shocked, because for years, whenever they would meet, Halwyn would look right through her. It turns out, he literally could not see her because of his poor vision. Now he’s sporting a brand new pair of spectacles, and notices how beautifully Grace has grown up.Simon, Grace’s stepfather, is so evil, he’s almost unbelievable. He bulldozed Grace’s mother into marriage shortly after she was widowed, and she allowed it because she was afraid of being alone. Immediately it became clear that he was after Grace’s fortune. He has kept her out of society as much as possible, forcing her to wear old clothes, and doing his best to ensure no one will want to marry her. Grace slips away to talk to Halwyn, explains her situation, and proposes a marriage of convenience. Halwyn agrees, and they decide to remain married for a year, then divorce. I found this surprising, because the time period is 1858, and divorce still carried a stigma. Of course, the more time they spend together, the fonder they become of each other. They both want to make it a real marriage, but each thinks the other still wants a temporary arrangement.As their upcoming marriage gets closer, Simon gets more desperate, and one of his schemes causes a serious injury to Halwyn. Simon was one of the most odious characters I’ve read about, and for a while, I wondered if he would be defeated. But Halwyn turns out to be true hero material, and he finally realizes that he loves Grace. As for Grace, she has loved Halwyn since she was thirteen. These two made a wonderful couple, who were a perfect match for each other. They had to work very hard for their well deserved happy ever after. I very much enjoyed this well written book, with its very clever title.originally posted at long and short reviews