Location: South Africa
Member Since:
Sep. 07, 2010
baychriz
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Smashwords book reviews by baychriz
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A Bed of Thorns and Roses: A Gilded Age Beauty and the Beast Romance
on Oct. 01, 2011
This historical romance brings all our favourite elements of a love story together – two emotionally scarred characters trying to find peace in each other's arms. Sondra Allan Carr just overwhelms with her sensitivity in this love-against-the-odds novel. Jonathan Nashe is heir to a huge fortune but after a tragic fire leaves him terribly disfigured, he refuses to let anyone see him. He lives, sheltered away from prying eyes, in his country mansion where he does some research to keep his mind and time occupied. Isabella Tate was the victim of a brutal rape and the ongoing physical and mental abuse of her father. To give her sister the opportunity of a better life, she agrees to be secretary to Jonathan for one year. Will these two people be able to put the past behind them and build a new life together or will their heartache keep them apart forever? Isabelle was an easy character to love. She always seemed to put her sister's happiness above her own, trying to give her a better life than she had. This endeared me to her. She is hired as a secretary for the elusive Jonathan Nashe and from the beginning, it is a difficult relationship both professionally and personally. I will admit that I have a soft spot for a tortured hero and Jonathan made me just want to put my arms around him and never let go. He is the perfect "beast" character – scarred both physically and mentally. He just could not fathom the idea that anyone could tolerate his presence, never mind love him! I was so happy the first time he came out of his room! Together, Isabelle and Jonathan start to help each other out of their comfort zones and they start living for the first time. At first it is just little Sunday morning strolls which then develops into evenings in the library. They have led such utter miserable lives and have experienced only hardship and pain, that as their love story slowly develops, we cannot help but wish them only happiness. Unfortunately the path to happiness is never easy and there are lots of misunderstandings. This was the only negative point for me. I felt that some of the misunderstandings could have been resolved immediately and that they got drawn out a bit too much. The subplot between Isabella's young sister and the doctor-friend of Jonathan was a fun addition to the book. I loved their relationship so much that I would have loved them to have had a book of their own. This is the ultimate "Beauty and the Beast" story. True love comes in all forms and is strong enough to wipe away even the worst of our pasts. That is the message of this book and I could not agree more.