Review: A unique and sensual tale of love!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 8, 2013
Before I begin, I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.I've always had a soft spot for historical romance. I don't know if it's the prose or the speaking style of the time period the author describes, but it gets to me every time. I'll admit when I read the blurb of this book, I was a bit apprehensive about reading it. Not because there's this unique and twisted plotline, but because I just KNEW that this book would toy with my emotions and I didn't want to be a blubbering mess after I read it. Yes, I was sobbing at times, but I waited until I was coherent enough to start writing my review.The story begins with the sweet and lovely Melody Cavendish, who marries the ancient Charles Cavendish to secure the financial well-being of her family. Just two months into her marriage, she is blackmailed and coerced into having a baby...with another man!! Who she'll never see or know. Forced together into cruel circumstances, Melody and Gavin make the best of their situation and slowly start to fall in love with each other. After a month or so, Melody is pregnant and Gavin is returned to his family. Though the two do search for each other, their whereabouts of one another are unknown and they can only cling to their memories. A chance encounter 5 years later shocks both Gavin and Melody as they discover each other's identities and unwind the truth behind Charles's nefarious plot.From the first page to, let's say, 40% into the book, I was constantly on the verge of tears. We'd like to believe such things don't happen, but because it was crucial to have an heir (even though Charles already had one) in England, he hatches this wicked plot that puts both Gavin and Melody's hearts at risk. I loved Melody's character. There isn't an evil bone in her body and she sacrifices SO much to protect her family."This was a stranger, a stranger from whom she was being forced to steal a child. This wasn't natural, it was abhorrent, but she had no choice. To protect her family from Charles' threats, she would do anything, even this."You have to understand that Melody came from an impoverished country family, so she has absolutely NO ONE to turn to. Family is what is important to her, so even though I hated that Gavin and Melody were going to do this, I definitely understood their reasoning. Besides, they were helpless to do anything to stop it. As for Gavin's character, he is handsome but not vain, a bit flirtatious but morally sound, and overall, a responsible peer who is well-known throughout London Society. He did what he had to do to protect his sister (though she was never in danger) and tried to make Melody as comfortable as possible. I think I felt for Gavin more than Melody here because he really was stuck in a dilemma: he misses his family and society life, but he is starting to have feelings for Melody."Freedom meant going home, back to his life and to his family, but it also meant never holding her in his arms again, this woman who had become something to him, something special, something that he couldn't fully identify, or perhaps didn't wish to acknowledge he admitted."Melody and Gavin are both VERY strong people so yes, they survive this, but both secretly longing for each other over the years.Thankfully, the despicable Charles Cavendish dies, leaving a pregnant Melody and her children with his land and fortune. Melody earnestly and lovingly raises her children, and at the same time, searches for Gavin. God, the search for Gavin literally tore my heart out. I am a firm believer of happy endings and though they do get their HEA, I just wished a bit sooner."Here in London, with the possibility, remote as it may be, that their paths might one day cross, she found it increasingly difficult to suppress that tiny glimmer of hope that had stubbornly lingered deep within the depths of her soul. The hope of one day being reunited with the man she had loved and lost."Yep, I was crying at this point. Like ugly crying with snot and fat tears. But that's ok because the best books are the ones that bring out those emotions, no matter how much I didn't want to me moved.There was a heart attack moment when Melody and Gavin are first introduced, formally I mean. Gavin has now become the Duke of Rutherford and Melody the widowed Lady Edgington. I was on edge the entire time and furiously biting my fingernails, just waiting for the bomb to drop. With the assistance of a private investigator and through their memories of each other, Gavin and Melody do recognize one another. Gavin, however, is mad, no wait, infuriated with Melody, thinking that the entire plot was hatched by her. I definitely understood why Gavin would think that way but after months of treating Melody with disdain and brooding silence, it finally took a toll on her (and me too!!!). I was so relieved when (view spoiler) Because Melody deeply loves Gavin, she suffers his treatment of her silently, never denying him, never saying a word against him, and when Gavin FINALLY figures out the truth, he is full of remorse and the two have a happy reunion full with declarations of love (cue the band and applause). I especially adore the ending scene, where Gavin transforms the cottage, a place filled with beautiful memories but never-ending darkness, into a glorious, idyllic retreat home for the two. So incredibly thoughtful, the notion of creating new memories on top of old ones.As you can probably tell, I adored the heck out of this book, and up to 70% of the book, it was an angsty rollercoaster for me. I'm glad that Melody and Gavin got their HEA, as they should after so much emotional drama. I hope Jennifer writes a sequel or companion novel to this book, perhaps one of William and Emma's story, a novella from Gavin's POV of the time he was stuck in the cottage, or another book for Melody and Gavin?4.5-5 STARS!!!