Author: Michelle K. Pillow
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Year: 2011
Genre(s): historical fiction, historical romance,
Part of a Series: No
Rating:
Why I read it: Amazon recommended it.
Summary: Young Lady Ginevra, mostly called Ginny, is betrothed as an infant to young Lord Wolfram, creating an alliance between their noble houses in medieval England. They grow up together, lifelong friendships forming between the two families. Gin and Wolf have a contentious relationship, often tormenting the other. But there is some tenderness there, though neither side tries to show it. Wolf grows into a warrior with a blood lust equal to his lust for women. Ginny grows into a proper woman who has a romantic view of marriage. They are married but complications arise. Will they ever be happy?
Review: I took a half star away from this after further consideration and dropped it from 3 1/2 stars. It’s more accurate.
It was difficult to like either of our main characters for a while. Okay, for a long time. They were fine as children, getting into mischief and unable to comprehend exactly what their future held for them. Gin wanted to be a boy rather than a girl to accept the roles placed on girls in medieval times. Wolf seemed amused by her and liked her.
Then it all goes downhill. When we next see Wolf, he is a battle-hardened warrior whose bloodlust is only matched by his lust for women. He also is sometimes downright cruel to Ginny, trying to be seen as “macho” to the others. He is impulsive and has a temper. And he’s also possessive. So it took me a long, long time to warm up to him. Even once I started to root for him to at least end up with Ginny, he still wasn’t always on my good side. He was just too much for me. There’s no other way for me to explain it.
Now onto Ginevra, our heroine. Did I like her any better than Wolf? Not really, no. She was a bit too modern. And just a bit too much. She’s so beautiful, all the knights want to carry her favor. Even the king wants her. Yet she doesn’t realize how beautiful she is. She is headstrong and would rather wear pants than dresses. And she is willing to go toe-to-toe with her husband (which is actually a positive). She won’t take anything lying down…until the end that is, but that would be spoilers.
So, yes, it was difficult to like the characters. It was difficult to root for their romance. At one point, I wondered if they would be better off separately. By the end, I wanted them together because I was pretty certain they could only stand each other. I’m not sure if that’s because the author built up a relationship around two people who are perfect for each other or not.
I’ll admit the end was done really well, but I don’t want to get too much into it for fear of spoilers. Perhaps if the author had focused more on that rather than romance, the book might have gotten better. Or if she overhauled her characters.
By now, you must be wondering why I rated this so high if I’m so negative. Because there was still plenty of good. The stories each of these characters were in separately were good. And Pillow created a vivid picture of medieval England.
Bottom line: Maybe I should’ve rated this lower?
Sex: Yes. Quite a bit in the middle.
Moonlight Musing
Ever have conflicting feelings about a book?
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