Review: Excellent Novella!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 23, 2013
OMG!  This novella was such an emotional read for me!  I actually felt the pain and sorrow experienced by the two main characters, Rose and Thomas, Earl and Countess of Avondale.  There were even a couple of times when I became teary eyed.  This little novella is graced with a fully developed plot, that moves at a nice, quick pace, and kept me enthralled from start to finish.  The characters came alive on the pages as I read, and the story that unfolds is a beautiful story, about revenge, love, and forgiveness.  Set in the late 1500's during the Elizabethan era, portions of the story take place at Lockharte, the Avondale estate, while other portions are set at the royal court.  After an arranged marriage, Thomas leaves his new bride and instead, spends the night with his mistress.  Shortly afterwards, he is sent to Ireland by the Queen, where he has remained for the past six years.  Finally, after the death of his father, and his inheritance of the Earldom, Thomas returns home to take up his responsibilities as Earl and to sire an heir.  That's the basic synopsis of the book, that barely hints at the jewel of a story that lies between the covers of this book.  As expected, Rose was devastated by Thomas' betrayal.  When she comes face to face with her husband after his six year absence, she is one cool customer.  It will take all of Thomas' charm, and quite a bit of groveling for him to win his wife back.  I expected to hate Thomas, at least at first, considering his conduct towards Rose.  But, instead, I loved him from the very beginning.  There is absolutely no doubt that Thomas is filled with remorse for his behavior towards Rose.  Furthermore, once I learned all the circumstances surrounding how Thomas and Rose came to be married, and had gained full insight into Thomas' thoughts at the time the two wed, I was able to sympathize with his plight that caused him to behave so reprehensively (I didn't approve of his behavior, but....)  My only complaint is that the villain of the piece, Rose's father, didn't really, IMHO, get his just desserts.  Though, I must admit to having a highly tuned vengeful streak, so anything less than the utter destruction of the villain rarely satisfies me.  LOL  After all, only through my reading do I get to indulge my thirst for vengeance!  As for the ex-mistress who was the cause of so much of Rose's heartache, well let's just say that she's insignificant......and in some ways SHE did get her just desserts.  I really loved this story.  I've actually read it twice.  I'm not sure why I didn't write a review the first time, but....  In any event, this book is awesome and I highly, highly recommend it!