Grade: A

The first time I read this book, I cried so much that I was depressed for an entire week. I put it in my keeper shelf because I liked it so much, but I couldn’t get myself to pick it up again. This is just my most favorite “falling in love with a man on his deathbed” ever, but it broke my heart each time I read it. The hero is wonderful and kind, while the heroine is just so wise, practical, and selfless without being an annoying martyr. Everyone in this book is just so likeable–I love the heroine’s family–that I couldn’t help but want to shake my fists at the sky, wailing, “Why God why would you do this to these nice people? They are just starting to live!” The story is sincere and engaging and the writing is just exquisite. Man, there just isn’t anything that I didn’t like about this book. I even liked the aha! “brilliant doctor who saves the say” moment and the villain who is not really a villain, but a misguided soul looking for love. There is one eye-rolling moment that almost ruins the entire book for me, but everything else is just good stuff. Goooood stuff.

My most favorite part of this book is the character of Rosalind Jordan. She was a grubby foundling discovered on the streets of London by two struggling theater actors who take her in and love her as a daughter. She grows up to the sensible, practical one in a family of theatrical people, but you never get a sense that she’s being a martyr or a pathetic dishrag who is everyone’s unpaid servant. She just recognizes what she’s good at and works with what she has. Even though her husband had cheated on her and got himself killed by a cuckolded spouse, she’s not bitter about it and has an altogether healthy outlook on life. When the hottie stranger comes into her life, she doesn’t hesitate to open her arms (or her legs… hee!) to him and I thought it was great that she was cognizant that it was a temporary thing and she was okay with that. She is not a saint, a simpering virgin, or a wide-eyed innocent; she’s just a woman who finally finds the love of her life and decides to throw caution to the winds and fully throw herself into the relationship.

As much as I loved Rosalind, though, I just about fell head over heels in love with Stephen Kenyon, the Duke of Ashburton. Here’s a man who is used to doing everything he’s supposed to, being the perfect son and brother, having everything in control, only to be told by his doctor that he only has a few months to live. One of the most powerful scenes in this book is when the normally unflappable duke breaks down and sweeps his orderly things from the table to the floor. He had thought that he was finally going to be able to do whatever he wanted (his father was a strict, controlling man) as a duke only to be given a death sentence by his doctor. God, this man just broke my heart and made me want to weep for him. I totally bought that he would just pack his bags, tell everyone to fuck off, and run away with a traveling circus theater to escape his gilded cage and live as a real man for once. For someone who is so strong and proud to not be able to control his own body… I mean, that’s just… sniff. [Excuse me, I need a moment.] When he meets Rosalind and thinks she’s the most beautiful woman in the world, I just about cried. He gives himself to loving her, taking care of her, and being there for her, even as his body continues to fail him. Oh, man, I’m getting teary again just typing this shit up.

The development of the relationship between Stephen and Rosalind was just absolutely brilliant. They become friends, really get to know each other (except Stephen doesn’t tell Rosalind his real name or who he truly is), and slowly fall in love with each other. Nothing about their relationship is rushed. I just really enjoyed the quiet moments the two of them have together, walking down to the river hand and hand, and stealing kisses from each other. That shit is beautiful, man. I didn’t doubt for a moment that what these people felt for each other was real. When the two of them meet, they don’t hesitate to acknowledge their attraction to each other. They are grown ups who indulge in their own desires and commit to each other with both of their eyes open. There are no bullshit games and if there are lies between them, there’s a good reason for them (Stephen doesn’t tell Rosalind about his identity because he’s afraid that she’d send him away). There’s a quiet dignity about their relationship that I rarely find in romance novels nowadays and I just totally dug it.

I also really enjoyed reading about Rosalind’s family. They’re all just so melodramatic and crazy, but loving and accepting, too. They mix quite well with the hero and the heroine and don’t detract from the main storyline. Aside from the Fitzgeralds, there is also Michael Kenyon, Stephen’s younger brother, who becomes desperate to find Stephen as soon as he finds out he’s dying. His appearance in this story isn’t just a useless cameo and I was grateful for that because it would have definitely taken away from the story. You know the book has to be worth reading when I’m bragging about the secondary characters.

There are only a couple of things that keep me from slapping an A+ on this baby. First, I was quite unhappy that right near the end of the book, Rosalind decides that she wants to find her true family and find out where she came from. It wasn’t really the search that bothered me, but the identity of her family. I just felt that it was just added on so that Rosalind and Stephen would be on a more level playing ground. Yes, Stephen is a duke and Rosalind is a traveling stage actress and together, they overcome their social boundaries. THAT WAS THE POINT OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP. Not only does it take away from the true meaning of their love, but it was almost insulting how contrived it was. That whole subplot just felt tacked on and didn’t fit with the rest of the story. Aside from that, I was also a little unhappy with the resolution of Stephen’s illness. It wasn’t the miracle cure–I thought that was brilliant–but it just seemed so rushed that it comes off as simplistic. It was such a Sherlock Holmes moment and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

If you’re looking for a well-written, sentimental, but totally un-hokey love story, definitely check this book out. Sure, it’s a “deathbed” story, but it rarely descends into melodrama and is just absolutely delightful. I know I’m gushing like a fangirl here, but I just really enjoyed this book. The relationship between Rosalind and Stephen is heart-breaking and beautiful at the same time and I have no doubt that you’ll adore them as much as I did. Don’t forget the tissues, though. You’ll definitely need them (not for that, you pervs!)

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 1st, 2006 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Books, Grade: A, Romance: Historical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.