Review: Unique Setting, Wonderful Hero, and Deep Issues Make For an Entertaining Story
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 2, 2013
As a person who reads a lot of romance novels it's not often that I come across a story that sets itself apart from the rest of the genre.  Ms. Brimble has done just that however through her unique setting and by making her characters not of the nobility.  The main characters are of the working class which places them in a decidedly different set of rites and circumstances and adds a bit of grittiness to a story dealing with the difficult issue of rape.Emily has been promised in marriage to Nicholas for the benefit of their family's business.  Since childhood they've been together and though she doesn't love him she's consigned herself to marrying him.  For the sake of her father and their future she continually overlooks the glimpses she sees of Nicholas' temper bubbling below the surface.  I found this extremely frustrating as she's a smart woman not easily led astray.  She's strong enough to stand up for herself so it's hard to reconcile her strength with her martyrdom, especially since her father was willing to let her back out of the arrangement.Will was a delightful character unashamed by his past as a pickpocket.  His upbringing was harsh and heartbreaking but he came out of it as a kindhearted soul.  The bad things he did enabled him to enter the same circle as Nicholas inhabits in order to enact his revenge for the vile deed the man did to his mother.  The deed is in fact one that Nicholas has perpetrated on numerous other women and Will is determined to see Nicholas pay for what he's done and stop him from doing it again.  Will at first doesn't care who gets in his way of revenge, but once he sees Emily he'll do anything to protect her and make her his.  He's a truly heroic character that completely won me over despite his past.Nicholas is a truly vile character who's gotten away with hurting one woman after another for a very long time.  There are many moments that show his true character and I wish Emily had heeded the warning signs sooner as her being in his presence had me constantly worrying for her safety.  Ms. Brimble deals with his crime of rape in a sensitive way with realistic ramifications.  You don't normally see heavy issues dealt with in this genre and I thought its inclusion was seamless and made for good drama.  Will's final act of revenge by bringing Nicholas' past victims to confront him felt a bit modern, though it made for a satisfying conclusion.The romance between Emily and Will was sensual and slowly built to its erotic conclusion.  They were a perfect match with their strong-willed natures and focus on doing what was right.  All in all there was a lot I liked about this book, but I felt it went on a bit too long and the beginning felt a bit clunky as though there were problems depicting the designated time period.  In fact I'm still not quite certain when this story exactly takes place.  I was also immensely frustrated by Emily staying with Nicholas as long as she did, almost to the point of becoming his next victim.  I would've ran far and long away from him at the first sign of his anger and possessiveness.  On a whole though I applaud Ms. Brimble for doing something different and memorable and look forward to what she has planned next.3.75 STARS!!