I had a hard time getting through this novel. Not only is Widow’s Peak very unbelievable, but the writing is not engaging. Both of these problems could have been ignored if the sexual interaction between the main characters was hot. It wasn't.
Here is what I had issues with:
Lady Amye de Barnard doesn’t act like a medieval lady. She acts like the lowest of chambermaids or servants, doing jobs and taking care of things that should have been delegated.
First, she washes Laine’s body, stitches him up, and tends to him herself during his recovery. As a lady this would never happen. When he’s awake and on the mend, she washes him like a baby and the blanket is the only nod towards modesty.
Amye is a very modern woman in a time when it’s just not possible. She rides astride. She pays the king a tax to stay unmarried. Her late husband was way too forward thinking for the time period. He got the king to sign a contract to allow Amye to be the land holder and owner of their fiefdom. She too is overly forward thinking when it comes to the vassals, serfs, and servants. I have a hard time believing the men surrounding her would not try to advise her or take control away.
She also is still completely in love with her late husband. Thomas is mentioned way too often. There's no way. Besides that every mention shows how wonderful Thomas was to her, to their people, to the land, in bed, as a husband, as a lover, as a teacher, as a friend, and on and on.
As for the sex, here are a very few examples:
- Let her lips roam to his pouch sucked one of his round balls.
- I found it hard to believe she was "tight as the virgins he was given" after 7 childbirths. Come on - really? Really? REALLY?
- The anal sex with soap (I’m assuming its lye base considering the time period). Can we say, burning? Lye is corrosive and will degrade organic tissue.
Laine as a hero also had problems. He was a terrible troubadour. He was a prostitute turned assassin. As an assassin, I have my doubts. He becomes injured by fighting in the trees (of all places how did the fight happen in the trees—how did they both get up there?) then as the two are fighting and falling from the branches he manages to get on top and survive.
Rating: 1 Star
This post was written by...
Keira – who has written 1167 posts on Love Romance Passion.
Keira's favorite type of heroes are blind, scarred, and tortured... yes, she understands those should be separate, but all 3 at once is also nice! She enjoys historical romances best and adores audio books because great narrators turn books into auditory/mental movies (and she loves her romantic dramas like Pride and Prejudice/North and South!) Learn more about Keira in My Instant Turn Ons, Offs, and Ifs.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I do have to butt in a little bit and say that highborn women did actually pay to remain unmarried. Kings liked money and were always short of it. It’s not impossible that she would have control of her land, but yeah, it does seem unlikely, and I agree on the rest. I’ll be avoiding this one.
Good to know! Do you know how high that tax is and if it was done very often?
Sounds bad. Thanks for the warning.