Elizabeth Beacon

Good book. It opened with a prologue where the young Lady Helena Snowe eloped with a nearly as young Captain William Harborough because her family disapproved of their romance. They had a one-week honeymoon before Will returned to the war and was shortly thereafter reported as killed in action. Because they had married secretly, Helena could not show her grief and had to keep it buried.

Six years later, Helena is still unmarried, though not through the lack of her mother's effort. Helena has no intention of marrying again and instead plans an extended stay with a recently widowed friend. Those plans come to a screeching halt when she receives a summons to her brother's home and finds her assuredly not-dead husband waiting for her. To say that she was angry that he'd been alive all that time without telling her would be an understatement. She barely recognizes the cold, stone-faced man in front of her and, in a fit of temper, talks about a legal separation.

However, it doesn't take long for her to realize that the Will she knew is still inside the stranger she's married to and still loves. I ached for her as he explained his reasons for the deception (to protect her) and that there was still danger from the enemies he had made. After years of independence, Helena is no longer the naïve young woman he married and refused to be packed off somewhere safe while he deals with the threat. I loved watching her stand up to Will, insisting they stay together.

What follows is their journey to his lands in Wales, taking every precaution to keep danger off their trail. Will is convinced that the threat is real and has already cost his mother her life. Helena has the advantage of being on the outside looking in at the events and has her doubts.

I enjoyed watching the rekindling of their relationship. Neither Will nor Helena has forgotten the intense attraction from their honeymoon, and the sparks are just as intense now. Both have changed a lot over the six years they've been apart, and getting to know each other again is filled with challenges. Will is haunted by what he has seen and done and refuses to burden Helena by sharing them with her. Helena has spent years helping her brother with his estates and refuses to be treated as a frail flower. Their chemistry is explosive, and Will struggles to maintain the control he needs to stay aware of their surroundings. I laughed out loud at their first night back together as Helena created a very amusing scene upon their arrival.

Their power struggle continued during their journey, and I laughed at several places where one or the other would get the upper hand. But through it all, Helena saw more of the old Will emerge from behind the shadows in his eyes. I liked their arrival at his property and seeing them settle in. But trouble is on the horizon, as Helena has taken steps to prove her belief that there was no danger following Will. I ached for Will as he learned the truth, and I understood his feelings of betrayal. Knowing he'd been deceived was terrible enough, but for Helena not to have told him her suspicions hurt even more. I hurt for both as harsh words were exchanged, and Will stormed away. It takes some serious self-examination for them to see the mistakes made and promise to do better. I loved Will's return and seeing him ready to move forward with Helena.

The epilogue was terrific, and I loved catching up with them a few years down the road.… (mais)

I love the premise: disabled heroine who has secretly been half in love with the hero for years. He kind of randomly comes around to noticing her, they squabble, there are dashes of angst, but it was all just too verbose for me. I found myself skimming the inner monologues when they became repetitive and went on for pages, which led to me missing out on some plot points, but I just couldn’t bring myself to be patient enough to read the dozens of paragraphs of the hero’s thoughts that could have been summed up in a couple of sentences. Towards the end, the dialogue got wordy too, with the protagonists repeating themselves and going in circles, so I rushed through the last several pages. The mystery plot is nominally interesting but not enough for me to read the rest of the trilogy, even if I am bit interested in seeing the Earl and Persephone lock horns. But the heroine of the third book is very unappealing to me. Still, I really liked the frenemies-to-lovers storyline, and the self-deprecating heroine, so it ends up just shy of three stars (2.5 stars)… (mais)